A typical high voltage fault impacts 100 properties, after an initial process to restore power to as many as possible. Traditionally, engineers would walk underneath the entire length of the overhead electricity cables to try to find the fault. However, drones can be flown above and images viewed on a laptop on site. Phil Burke, an electrical engineer leading the trial at UK Power Networks, said: “Our teams face hedgerows, wire fences, ditches, woodland, fallen branches and uneven ground. “Sometimes we’ll reach an obstacle like a fence and need to walk further away from the line to return to the…
